Brush BOE hears from middle school student on budget cuts

Several students from Thomson Primary School were recognized for their achievements in reading at last week s meeting of the Brush Board of Education. (Iva Kay Horner/News-Tribune)

The school motto at Thomson Primary School is simple…"To Learn is to Live."Students of the primary school proved they are living up to that motto as they were recognized for their accomplishments in reading at last week's regular meeting of Brush Board of Education (BOE).Each student made progress in reading with teachers looking at fluency and accuracy scores, explained Sheila Bostrom, one of several teachers who presented students with certificates. According to Bostrom, "Thirty-six words per minute improvement was needed from fall to spring. These students accomplished that in about half a year," she noted.First grade teacher Lindsey Kimball said her three students entered the grade level as non-readers, but are now considered "core readers" or reading at grade level. "They have made wonderful progress," she told the board.Jeanette Dehning, who is working with the kindergarten students this year, explained that three of her four students had no previous school experience, starting the year out not knowing letters or sounds. "They have gone to mid to high levels," she remarked, adding, "The kids deserve all the credit."Following the presentation, Thomson Primary School Principal Dave Uhrig, with several teaching staff, provided a Power Point presentation on what's taking place in their building that now houses a total of 476 students.Of those, Uhrig said, 107 are in kindergarten, 116 are in first grade, 107 are in second with 146 total in the preschool program.

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Class sizes currently stand 21 to 22 students per each of the second grade classrooms, with the kindergarten and first grade classes averaging 17 to 18 students per teacher.Counselor Judy Schott explained that she "does a lot with students to make sure they are prepared to learn", as well as teaches behaviors using the SWIS data program. "SWIS tracks our behaviors and where we need to work," she explained. Thomson also has fully implemented the Positive Behavior in School program, with the State of Colorado wanting the school to maintain that status. She also is working on improving communication with parents and the community, with the new website to feature her blog once it is up and running.Charlene Guerrera, LPN and school nurse, reported that she saw 1,792 students the week of January 13, and as of last Tuesday night's meeting, could be seeing up to 1,840 students. "I see 17 to 20 kids per day," she noted, adding she also will be providing vision and hearing screenings for students in prekindergarten through second grade, along with complete screenings for new students."A celebration is that Thomson is 100 percent fully compliant for vaccinations," she stated, also informing BOE members that her duties include keeping track of allergies, talking directly to physicians, accommodating high needs students, insuring the school is following health plans, helps the RN make plans for students on medications, takes care of special needs, as well as talks with parents and helps at other school buildings. "I am our RN's right hand man," she said.Preschool/Head Start Director Barb Wacker told board members there are eight classrooms serving 146 2 1/2 to five-year-old students in her program. "I have the opportunity to work with some of the really, really little ones," she commented, adding that 101 students will be transitioning into next year's kindergarten program.She also is in the planning process for transition and kindergarten round-up. Wacker reported that, after making many phone calls, the district is not able to justify adding another room. "We are filling up some of our classrooms up to 16…that is a licensing regulation. We still have a waiting list but the kids are three. To the best of our ability we have rounded up most of our four-year-olds."Dehning informed the board that 50 kindergarten students were considered on the "red" list for reading plans at the beginning of the year, with only six currently on that list. Dehning and other teachers are tutoring students before and after school to provide assistance."We are definitely a team," Bostrom said of the second grade reading teachers, who not only provide "good classroom instruction", but also offer reading intervention, as well as one-on-one tutoring for students. High school students are helping with the second grade class, she noted.Kimball reported that she works with 28 kids in her intervention class, and that of the eight students she had in the fall, five are now in that category. In the fall, 11 students were in the core class with that number now up to 19. Like the other teachers, she has been providing extra tutoring, as well as using several intervention strategies including Marzano.Grant monies for her class have been used to purchase READ act materials including a Leap Reader pen, while Bostrom has purchased iPods for her second graders.Principal Uhrig told board members that his building had a 99 percent attendance rate at the last round of parent-teacher conferences, with 100 percent attendance for each of the fall READ plan meetings. "We are doing a much better job of sending letters to families with attendance issues and starting attendance plans including interventions to help," he stated.Additionally, staff have made several home visits to insure medical files are up to date, and he is excited about Schott's upcoming blog. "We have some great ideas to put into the blog," he commented. "Putting all these things together, it will help Thomson be a better school."In other matters, the board heard from Colton Phillips, a seventh grade student at Brush Middle School, who relayed his feelings on possible budget cuts."My first topic is band," he began. "My teacher is Miss Angie Shaffer. She's a great teacher…real funny. She makes band and learning fun and also when you're in band, it is the only activity that actually uses both side of your brain. Studies show that people who take band actually score higher on tests than students who do not do band."He also is an advocate for the art program, commenting, "Miss Mead is a really fun teacher and a real good artist. I would be really sad to see Miss Mead and Miss Shaffer gone. They are good teachers and deserve to be here." He continued, "Art helps you express yourself, helps you to be better at drawing, teaches you history…people who take art could be the next Michelangelo."Phillips also said that he enjoyed football and basketball when he played. "It inspired me to want to be an NFL player when I get older.""If you take away art, band, woods and athletics, kids might not want to learn or might want to go to another school with those programs. If you take away band, I'm not going to go to school no matter what my dad says," he quipped, concluding with, "School is like a card house. It is very hard to build, it takes every single card to build a house but if you remove one, the whole thing falls."In other business, the board approved the consensus agenda, that included adding Anna DeLong as a substitute bus driver. Resolutions dealing with the beginning fund balance, final budget/appropriations adoption, a loan from the Food Service Fund to the General fund, the Gifted/Talented and English Language Learner plans received approval as well.The BOE also heard a brief quarterly financial report from School Business Officer Aaron Oberg who reported the first installment of property taxes are due February 28, with full payment requested by April 30. He, along with Morgan County Treasurer/Public Trustee Bob Sagel are to meet to identify the top 10 taxpayers and when those payments will be made. "I expect February and April to be lean months," Oberg commented.The business officer also told the board that proposals for the Food Service RFP are due April 3 and he anticipates holding a pre-proposal meeting on March 25. RSVP's are due March 18.The next meeting of the board will be held February 4 at Beaver Valley Elementary School. The board will meet with staff at 5 p.m. to discuss the budget, and with parents at 6 p.m. The regular meeting of the board will begin at 7 p.m.

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